Anthony Joshua beats Carlos Takam but crowd boo referee after he stops fight in tenth round due to TKO
World heavyweight champion had his nose broken early on but Takam did not look totally out it when Phil Edwards called time on bout
ANTHONY JOSHUA'S TKO of Carlos Takam was booed by the 78,000-strong crowd after ref Phil Edwards stopped the fight in the tenth.
Joshua was comfortably ahead on the scorecards but last-minute stand-in Takam looked far from out of it.
He rocked AJ with a headbutt early on that looked to have broken the world champion's nose.
But with blood pouring from his eye, Edwards decided Joshua had done enough to earn the win - earning boos from the crowd.
Tony Bellew, commentating ringside, said: "No one boos at an Anthony Joshua fight but I understand where they're coming from."
Joshua said: "I have no interest in what's going on with the officials, that's not my job.
"Unfortunately the ref stopped. I think people want to see Takam unconscious on the floor. That's where I was trying to get to."
Takam said: "I don't know why the referee stopped the match."
BLOOD AND BUTTS Joshua triumphs in bloody brawl despite probable broken nose
And boxing superstars and fans on Twitter reacted with rage.
Carl Frampton said: "AJ winning everything but that bad stoppage. Does a discredit to Takam's toughness."
Barry McGuigan wrote: "Referee should have given Takam the chance to stay in the fight, he deserved that, having put up such a courageous fight."
One wrote: "F*** off! The British Board of Control are ruining the sport! What a terrible stoppage!"
Another said: "What an awful British stoppage."
A fellow user said: "British referees embarrassing themselves once again. What a shocking stoppage."
Another wrote: "Horrible call, it's world championship fight! No way that one gets stopped that early in the USA."
One user posted: "British refs used to be the best now they're just masters of the premature stoppage."
